How to hire a Temporary Activity (subclass 408) worker for your Tourism business

A Coffs Harbour blueberry farm filled 26 of 30 picking roles in eight days using the PALM scheme stream of the 408. Three of those candidates had never seen Australia in person.

This guide walks tourism businesses through the practical steps of hiring someone on a Temporary Activity (subclass 408) — what to check, what to advertise, how to verify work rights, and what compliance you need before day one.

Step 1 — Verify work rights

The Temporary Activity (subclass 408) carries case-by-case (depends on grant) work rights by default. Always confirm against the candidate’s grant letter or via VEVO before you make an offer — the platform stores their visa data so you can check at a glance, but VEVO is the source of truth.

Step 2 — Match your role to their work rights

If the candidate is hours-limited, structure the role accordingly. If they’re sponsorship-eligible and you’re a Standard Business Sponsor or Accredited Sponsor, you can use this hire as your nominated position.

Step 3 — Sponsorship pathway

This visa subclass is part of the sponsorship pipeline. Your business needs Standard Business Sponsor (SBS) status — or Accredited Sponsor for faster processing — before you nominate.

Step 4 — Compliance you can’t skip

• Fair Work obligations — minimum wage, super, leave entitlements, regardless of visa.
• Modern Award — pay against the relevant industry award; below-award pay rejects the post here.
• Record keeping — VEVO check date, offer letter, signed agreement, super fund choice.
• Never charge the candidate — sponsorship-fee or pay-for-work conduct is criminal under s245AR Migration Act 1958.

Step 5 — Post the role

Use the platform: tag the role with the visa subclasses you can hire (the Temporary Activity (subclass 408) lives in our taxonomy as a single click), set sponsorship to “yes” or “maybe”, and tick “open to offshore” if relevant. The matcher will start surfacing candidates within minutes.